Paramount ready for a ‘Monster Trucks’ movie flop

Paramount is Preparing For a Massive Loss Heading Into ‘Monster Trucks’ Release

Every summer has its fair share of box office (and critical) disappointments with 2016’s being no exception. Of course, there were the massive successes like Captain America: Civil War, Finding Dory, and Suicide Squad. But out of the entire summer run, those films are really all Hollywood has to be happy with at this point. But the studio that has had the toughest go of things is definitely Paramount.

The studio started out the summer with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows only bringing in $82 million domestically, followed by the well-received Star Trek Beyond with $157.5, then finally the disastrous flop of Ben-Hur that ended with a miserly $26 million.

So, it doesn’t look too good for Paramount right now, particularly since the rest of the year will mostly be filled with smaller, award-friendly films that have little chance of blowing the box office away. And unfortunately, it seems like the studio will only keep digging themselves deeper as they prepare for the release of Monster Trucks early next year.

According to THR, Viacom (which owns Paramount) has lowered its earning projections for the fourth quarter of this fiscal year. Now, that wouldn’t normally cause reason for alarm since many large companies have their ups and downs. But the report detailed that Viacom’s reason for this action is due to an “impairment charge of $115 million” that may potentially be connected to the financial performance of an upcoming movie.

That doesn’t sound too good, while it is sad to admit. The report didn’t reveal which movie is being predicted to severely underperform, but looking at Paramount’s release schedule, the culprit is more than likely Monster Trucks.

There may be a handful of successful blockbusters that began with a relatively shaky concept, but Monster Trucks probably won’t fit into that category. The movie’s release date has been pushed back further and further and further. A similar issue happened with 2014’s Jupiter Ascending, a major flop for Warner Bros. that had also seen plenty of delays and setbacks.

Therefore, it remains to be seen just how much (or how little) faith Paramount has in the future of Monster Trucks. The film’s budget is currently estimated at $100 million, which doesn’t include the high marketing costs. But regardless of the predicted failure’s actual identity, it’s a real shame that Paramount is in such a big slump.

Nevertheless, the studio is bound to get back on their feet when Transformers: The Last Knight hits next summer. Since the weak critical success of that franchise hasn’t stopped it from making huge waves at the box office, it’s possible Monster Trucks could have at least a shred of that same success. In the end, it really all does boil down to marketing, finding a smart target audience, and having something to draw in big audiences. There hasn’t been a ton of advertising for Monster Trucks, so hopefully the studio can develop a smart strategy in making the final outcome of the film as manageable as possible.

Hey, that’s what made Suicide Squad critic proof this summer.

Monster Trucks opens in U.S. theaters on January 13, 2017 aka the Island of Misfit Movies month.

I am a Media Studies graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I have been writing about film for years now, ranging from news to screenplays. Some of my favorite films are The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and Monsters, Inc. I am also a bit of a history buff, particularly with World War II.